New York native Josh Hamilton has long been one of the most fun-to-watch actors working in independent film and downtown theater. Fans of Noah Baumbach’s 1995 film Kicking and Screaming remember him for his iconic performance as the anxiously intelligent Grover; he also created the role of Dennis in Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth and excelled as the coolly detached Mickey in the 2005 stage production of Hurlyburly. Hamilton can currently be seen starring in the film Outsourced and, starting October 22nd, the highly anticipated new play Things We Want, written by the preternaturally brilliant Jonathan Marc Sherman. (Read Sherman's recent Times profile here.) more ›

One of the city's biggest industries is the tourism, and the city announced a major push to keep the tourists coming in. Mayor Bloomberg and other officials kicked off the " first-ever global multimedia communications campaign to promote New York City." An advertising campaign titled "This is New York City" will features outdoor posters, internet advertising and a TV spot. Plus, the NYCVisit website features ways for visitors to plan their trip. more ›

Diamond asked the residents of New York City's most diverse nabe about their food preferences and solicited recipes. Her project, which is being presented by the Queens Museum of Art, runs through October 14. The goal of "This Is What Eat," is to "unite and empower its readers through food." Based on the diversity of recipes it seems to be a resounding success. The dishes run the cultural gamut from red beans and rice and macaroni cheese to shrimp ceviche and Belgium Chicken Soup. more ›

Yesterday Merv Griffin lost his battle to prostate cancer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 82. He received his first treatment for this in 1996 and in late July of this year it was publicized that the cancer had come back. In a statement on Merv.com his son Tony said: "My father was a visionary. He loved business and continued his many projects and holdings even while hospitalized. We take solace in knowing that until the end he had his two favorites by his side--his family and his work. His legacy will be honored through the continuing operations of The Griffin Group under its current leadership and by the millions of lives he continues to affect through entertainment." more ›

[Ed. note: We'd like to welcome Robyn Lee, who wrote for Parisist while she was there and who you may also know as The Girl Who Ate Everything. She'll be taking over Camera in the Kitchen for a bit.] more ›

If you’ve ever tried to convince your parents that the bong they found hidden in your closet was an abstract sculpture, The Bong Show, or This Is Not a Pipe will be right up your alley. For her first curatorial project, Beverly Semmes “wondered what would happen when serious artists contemplated a culturally marginal object (a bong, for example).” more ›

EVENT: Fat Baby is turning in to Craft Baby tonight, with a Make Workshop event that will teach you to reconstruct your boring 'ol clothes. You can als how to embroider, knit and crochet...your grams would be so proud of you. And don't forget to stop by the silk screen and iron-on station (byo-witticisms). more ›

Are you a fantasy baseball nut who finds your loyalties divided between your fantasy team and your real team? Are you a Mets fan who “owns” Chipper Jones, a Yankee fan with Curt Schilling on the roster? Maybe you are one of the millions who hate Duke Basketball. more ›

Elizabeth Merrick, Author, Girly, Founder/Director, Grace Reading Series more ›

- Gervais doesn't have any worries about the US-version of The Office ("They are doing their own thing") and said the US version of Slough is Scranton, PA. [On the BBC website, Gervais earlier thought Newark was Slough-ish]Dan has a wonderfully thorough wrap-up of the evening. Here's BBC America's The Office site; the special will air tonight and repeat over the weekend. The NY Times loved the special; The New Yorker preferred two seasons of the series, calling it "perfect." more ›

There's a fine site dedicated to the Czech-born Sasek (he worked in Munich but traveled around the world) This is M. Sasek, that's loaded with information. That's where we learned about this "This Is..." books about other cities, like Paris, London, Hong Kong and Venice - plus the other American cities, San Francisco and D.C.. Only This Is New York and This Is San Francisco have been reprinted, but many are at libraries. more ›

Ha ha ha - the NY Times reporter Michael Wilson investigates those crazy processions of police cars, sirens a-blazing we've been seeing lately, writing:

Since its debut about a month ago, it has quickly become one of New York City's hottest acts for those lucky enough to catch a free, unannounced performance. Call it "The Police Drive Fast! And Park!"

It goes something like this: On a typical block in, say, Midtown Manhattan, as many as 80 police cars quickly stream in out of nowhere, in neat rows, their lights and sirens going. The drills seem to take place on blocks with restricted parking, and each car executes a fast back-in parking job against the curb. Sometimes, depending on the block, they park perpendicular to the curb; sometimes at a slant. The officers - scores of them - get out of the cars. They do not rush into a building. They do not draw their guns. They pretty much just stand around for half an hour or so. Then, officers pile back into their cars and, again in perfect formation, the cars pull away from the curb and drive off.

Gothamist saw Finding Nemo this weekend, and while it was cute/sweet/nice, we were more affected by the previews. Basically because the previews of children's movies were stultifyingly awful (except for Will Ferrell in Elf: Physical comedy, Will Ferrell dressed as an Elf, how can you go wrong?) - it was almost enough to make us vow never to have children. Example, Brother Bear, which was dripping with treacle and messages. Also, if Disney thinks that having a movie with songs by Phil Collins is a draw, then Gothamist understands why the company has been so troubled lately. We wonder, do people, when they turn into parents, lose their taste? more ›